Student Legal Clinic

UPDATE ON NC COURTS:  It was just announced that, beginning on Monday, March 16, "most cases" in the North Carolina courts will be continued (postponed to a later date) for at least 30 days. This will include cases scheduled for district criminal court administrative sessions. Courthouses will still be open and staffed, but the goal is to reduce traffic and large numbers of people in the courthouse. If you have a court date coming up, you can check the status of your case with the Watauga County Clerk of Court by calling (828) 268-6600.  (Note: the Clerk is asking people to wait until at least next week to call, because they will be working on rescheduling cases and won't have information about new court dates immediately.)  You can also access information at the North Carolina Courts website: https://www.nccourts.gov/.  Domestic Violence cases will still be heard without delay.

Student Legal Clinic appointments are available by phone during Appalachian State University's extended spring break. Call (828) 262-8284 to schedule an appointment. We will be posting more detailed information soon about our operations going forward and meeting options for App State students who need legal advice.  

2018-19 Student Legal Clinic data shows increase in landlord-tenant cases

Each year, at the end of spring semester, we review at our data for the past year to see how many students consulted with the Student Legal Clinic and what types of cases they needed help with.  We look for trends and use the information we collect from our database and from student surveys to improve the services we provide.

In 2018-19, for the first time since the Student Legal Clinic started operating in fall 2002, more students sought advice about landlord-tenant issues than any other type of case. This included a number of students who met with the Student Legal Clinic to review their lease before signing it -- always a good idea when entering a binding legal contract!  As the Appalachian State University student body continues to grow, and a larger number of students live off-campus, we expect lease reviews and other rental issues will continue to be a hot topic for the Student Legal Clinic.

In addition to individual consultations, we work with our partner program Off-Campus Student Services to provide educational presentations and other programs for students living off-campus or preparing to move off-campus.  For more information about what the Student Legal Clinic has been up to this past year, check our 2018-19 infographic report.  Follow us on Facebook and feel free to email ruschkp@appstate.edu with any questions or comments!

Number of students seeking legal advice increased in 2017-18

The numbers are in: During 2017-18, 389 Appalachian State students contacted the Student Legal Clinic for help with 442 separate issues, representing a significant increase from the 327 who sought help the previous year. Consultations most frequently involved minor criminal charges, landlord-tenant issues, and traffic tickets. But students also sought advice and information about expungement, family and relationship issues, employment, lawsuits for money, and a host of other issues.

For more information about what we do, check out our 2017-18 Student Legal Clinic Infographic. Questions: Call (828) 262-8284 or email ruschkp@appstate.edu.